Common Grasses and Sedges of Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling Forest Divisions, West Bengal

An attempt has been made to list common grasses and sedges of the three hill divisions of West Bengal giving some details of their ecology and distribution. The note does not claim to be exhaustive. The autecological and synocological studies of the grasses and sedges of these hills form an essential part of the study of the flora of the Eastern Himalayas. Conditions in these three hill divisions vary greatly from the plains of the Terai to altitudes of 10,400 ft. (at Richi La in the Kalimpong division) and 12,000 ft. (at Phalut and Sandakphu of the Darjeeling divisions). The region covers a variety of types of rock and soil and a wide range of temperature from tropical through sub-tropical and temperate to Alpine; the annual rainfall varies from 80 to 200 inches. All these factors serve to make the grassland associations and the distribution of grasses exceedingly interesting. There is a large scope for the study of the systematics of grasses and sedges of this tract along with those of Sikkim, especially in the inner hill ranges and alpine climates. Hooker recorded that Gramineae was the second and Cyperaceae the fifth largest family of the flowering plants of Darjeeling and Sikkim hills and indicated large possibilities for further exploration.